No longer the wallflower
by twistedskier
Summary: I never pegged myself to be a cheater. It just happened. It just happened to happen with my best friend’s fiancé. I know, how low can I get right? Follow the story the love triangle of Lily/James/Ariana.
1. Chapter 1

I never pegged myself to be a cheater. It just happened. It just happened to happen with my best friend's _fiancé_. I know, how low can I get right?

My best friend and I have been through almost everything. We grew up together, went to Hogwarts together, had our first boyfriends together, but never this. I don't plan on telling her either, well not at this exact moment. I've always been jealous of Ariana, with her perfect brown hair and her vivid turquoise eyes. She was around 5' 7," the perfect height. Not too tall, or too short. She grew up in this life, she was a _pureblood,_ not a _muggleborn_ like myself. She grew up with the best of everything and always got what she wanted. I grew up in a regular muggle neighbourhood in Surrey. I had a plain name, _Lily Marie Evans_, while she had such an exotic name of _Ariana Ursa Grey. _

My parents always told me that I was a mistake, I mean who wants a kid like me? With scarlet red hair and jade green eyes, I was definitely one in a million. It also didn't help that I was a staggering 5' 11". My parents wanted acceptance and I generally didn't help. I've always been different. Ariana always seemed to be tanned, while I was stuck in a milky white complexion. Ariana's skin was so clear, while mine was speckled with freckles. Ariana had a fabulous PR job for a wizarding record company. I on the other hand had an _un-fabulous_ job in the Department of Law Enforcement. I always thought that it was what I wanted, but I was wrong. I suppose the only good thing that came out of it was _James Potter_. James Potter was the epitome of perfection and I immediately knew that nothing would happen. We became great friends, meeting for drinks and meals, but deep down I was kidding myself.

I prayed that something would happen, I mean I _really _cared for him. After about six weeks of training together I decided to give up. Nothing was going to come out of it, I mean who wants to date, let alone marry a fiery redhead. That's right, _no one._ Instead, I decided to set James up with Ariana. It started with one date, then two, and the next thing you knew they were on the cover of the Daily Prophet. "Best Looking Couple," they claimed. Everyone could see it, I mean their genes were beyond _fantastic._ After the paper incident, I noticed something different in Ariana. Her turquoise eyes seemed to sparkle with love. She came to me and told me. She told me that she was in love with James Potter, _my _James Potter.

I think at that exact moment I knew my chances were gone. Before, I was making mountains out of anthills. I was secretly hoping that he would dump her and proclaim his feelings for me. That never happened, because a week later James proposed. They were getting married, as in _together forever_. When Ariana displayed her fabulous SIX carat ring, I was overjoyed for her. As children we always dreamed about our weddings, the dress, the cake, and most of all the man. Ariana had it all while I was green with envy.

I never knew how much control I really had over Ariana until the dress fitting came. As the legend has it, when the bride-to-be tries on the right dress, she will know immediately. We had been to over 4 stores, tried on over 100 dresses, and still no dress. When we entered the fifth store, she tried on a dress and I decided to test my luck. She looked good, but she had looked better before.

"Oh, Ariana. That's the dress!" I proclaimed.

"Are..Are you sure?" She questioned. I could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"James will simply fall over when he sees you." I cooed.

Ariana then decided to leave the uncertainty behind, after all, I was her best friend. She purchased the dress three minutes later and we were out the door.

Three days later, it was my twenty-second birthday. Ariana decided to throw a huge party at the Leaky Cauldron and invited everyone including her beloved.

About two hours into the party, Ariana was completely smashed. James made Remus take her home after she started to dance on the bar.

An hour later and three drinks later, James and I were talking. Soon the talking became in-dept conversations. After a few more drinks, we were both pretty buzzed but by no means drunk. It was one in the morning and James, being the gentleman he was decided to take me home. He called a taxi and we set off for my apartment. He walked me up the three flights of stairs, and being the polite girl I am, I invited him in. Okay, _big mistake_. We had a couple more drinks, and soon enough the alcohol had taken a toll on our bodies. We were getting a little too friendly, I mean the man is getting married!

I turned around, and his lips were on mine. Merlin, those soft lips that I had been dreaming about. I immediately responded, soon enough his tongue was begging for entrance. I obliged, _merlin he was a good kisser_. Our kisses became more frantic, along with some more _intimate _touching. One after another, our clothes landed on the floor. Soon enough he was on top of me, about to make us one. He leaned into my neck and whispered "Are you drunk?" I replied with a shake of my head, "No." He smirked, "Good, because I want you to remember this." We were soon as one, my back arching against his touch. I had never felt so alive, we seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. After we "made love" as he called it (which only made it feel so much better), we both fell asleep.

Hours later I awoke to James by my side. Something was beeping, I slowly crawled out of bed to my cellphone. _Merlin, _thrity-nine missed calls, from **Ariana**.

"JAMES" I screamed.

"Huh..uhh…wooah..what," he was only waking up.

"Ariana called thrity-nine times!"

To this, he seemed to wake right up.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"We need to think of a plan Lily. I'm going to tell her that I spent the night at Sirius', he'll cover me. If she asks, just tell her that you didn't see me after the party..okay?"

I was on the verge of crying, the guilt seemed to rush through my veins.

"Lily, don't cry. It'll be okay."

He walked toward me for a hug, which I couldn't accept.

He left shortly after, no more words were shared.

I knew deep down that this was only the beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

I sat on that bed for thirty-three minutes and fourty-nine seconds trying to process what had just occurred hours earlier. I knew that I had broken a trust, but if I did something wrong, how could it of felt so _right_? That question kept running through my head for hours on end.

I knew there were reasons; the presence of alcohol, the possibility of cold feet, or the tradition of having _one last fling. _I also knew that these were _not_ the reasons. He asked me if I was drunk, which I wasn't, they had been together for a while, which ruled out cold feet, and finally, why would he pick someone he knew so well as the _last fling_.

I finally rose from my bed, heading to the kitchen for a steaming cup of coffee and a hangover potion. "Damn, I'm out of hangover potions. I guess advil will have to suffice." I said to myself.

_Drip, Drip, Drip, _went the coffee maker. With every _drip,_ my body seemed to slowly fill with regret and uncertainty. What would I do? I had betrayed my best friend, gone beyond _low_.

I remembered in fifth year, Ariana had been cheated on. Who was the perpetrator? None other than one of her little followers, _Charlotte._ What happened to Charlotte? Well, we had informed the population of Hogwarts that she had developed _syphilis,_ and we had spotted her being _a little more than friendly _with Filch. Charlotte transferred out of Hogwarts within the hour, and we never saw her again.That was fifth year, and I'll admit that it was harsh. But, were not in fifth year anymore, what would she do now?

With that thought in mind, I decided to treat myself to a little retail therapy. I had a long shower, where I tried to clean off that _cheating_ feeling. I took extra care in my looks, so that if one of James' friend found out, maybe he'd gain an "atta boy," rather than "wow, did you loose your glasses that night?" I pulled out all the stops, smoky eyes which highlighted my green ones, applied blush to make my cheeks look a little more pronounced, and poked two pearls into my ears. I slid on a sea green chiffon blouse along with a pair of grey high-rise slacks, and a pair of silver pumps.

My first stop was _The Enchanted Salon_, a hair salon for witches and wizards. I had Lavender, my stylist put in some highlights, along with a smoothing spell to make my hair shine. I also had her snip off a couple of inches, I was now a proud owner of a bob. It looked phenomenal, as I walked out, heads actually turned. After an ego boost, I headed off to buy myself a new dress. I ended up purchasing two, one short black dress with some sequins, and a knee-length plum dress. I then headed to buy myself some new bras and underwear. I walked into "Witch's Secret," and heard someone calling my name. I scanned the store, and that was when I saw her, _Ariana._ She had a smile on her face, showing off her pearly whites.

"Lily! I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" Exclaimed Ariana.

"Oh now dont't be silly! We saw eachother last night. What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm shopping for my wedding night. I'm glad I ran into you! I need help deciding!"

"Okay, well why don't you go show me your choices." I suggested.

She nodded happily, and headed off to the fitting room. I thought to myself, she didn't seem mad, he hasn't told her. I really was _the last fling, _if I was important she would surely know_._ My mood changed from confident to feeling like a piece of gum stuck on the underside of a desk.

"Lily, I'm coming out!"

I walked over to the change rooms, and my heart sank. How could I compare to _that?_ That perfect olive skin, those perfect curves, and the contrast of turquoise on her body. She looked like a goddess.

"Ariana, James is going to look like a fish out of water when he sees you!" _It was true, I was out of the running for this race._

"Well, I have one more! Just wait a minute." I obliged, and plopped onto the couch.

When she came out, I wondered why I stayed. How could I look at what James would see in a matter of weeks. When James would see her, he'd forget about me immediately and be crammed full of lust. She was sporting a blood red outfit this time, and it looked even better, _if that's even possible_. I wanted to go home and cry, I knew that I was best friends with a beautiful girl, but not a _freaking model_.

"Ari, thats the one."  She smiled, she already knew.

As she headed back into the fitting room, I brought my hands to my face, wondering what the hell I was doing there. Just then, the door chimed, and in stepped _James Potter._ I looked away, hoping he wouldn't see me.

Ariana came back out of the fitting room, and had obviously noticed James.

"_Jamie,_ I told you not to come! You're going to ruin the suprise, why don't you and Lily head out for coffee and I'll meet you there in ten minutes?"

At that moment, my presence was acknowledged. I saw James rotate his neck and look at me. He and I both had the "well this isn't awkward at all" look on our face, but Ariana didn't pick up on it.

He quickly nodded, and we were out of the shop in less than a minute. We walked in silence, until he broke it.

"Lily, I know what you're thinking. I know how you work. You are probably thinking that you are a horrible person, betraying Ariana. You aren't though, you're the furthest thing from being horrible. I knew that this would happen eventually. I've had feelings for you for a while, but when you set Ariana and I up, I knew that I didn't have a chance. And last night, well last night was something that I had been dreaming of ever since we met. I knew that this is wrong, and a horrible thing to ask, but do you care for me too?"

I stared at him, and all I could think about was how I needed to leave Britain, _and fast_.

_____________________________________________________________________

Before I could respond, Ariana popped into the coffee shop. I told them that I had to go to my parents place, but James could see beyond my lie. I said my goodbyes, then apparated home. I arrived at home, and put my new purchases into my closet. I then opened a bottle of firewhiskey, it was only three o'clock, but it had been a _long_ day.


End file.
